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PDCW46/20060605
PDCW46 Meeting Agenda Monday, June 5, 7-9 PM Barbara & Burt's 841 NE 105th St., (206) 729-7412 Facilitator: Debby Norman Notetaker: Kim Wells 7:10 meeting called to order. Mingling & Introductions Present: Debby Norman, Barbara Stoner (e-mail: LuceLoosy@aol.com), Margaret Shield (e-mail: m.shield@comcast.net), Barbara Whitt, Chad Lupkes, Bev Marcus, Sylvia Haven, Justin Simmons Listservs – Bev Remember: audience is very broad, so be thoughtful about what we send out. Members are visible on the Listserv if you wish to know. City charter amendments – Chad Background: Good: Amendment #3. City Council will reconfirm certain Department heads every 4 years instead of the current system where the Mayor appoints and there’s no accountability. Chad called Peter Steinbrueck’s office to be put on the Public Notice. The Mayor, so far, is not opposing these Charter Amendments. (Per Seattle P-I, the Mayor, albeit belatedly, is now questioning this change.) Troubling: Amendment #11 Changes the Manner of Compiling Passed Ordinances for Public Access. Eliminates the paper volume of the ordinances due to lack of demand. Chad’s concern is that in case of power failure, the downtown Public Library should have a copy. Does that mean they simply stop binding them? Chad will express concern to City Council and try to get more clarification on status of these books. Will report back. Public hearing June 19th. Proposed Charter Amendments will be on ballot. There will be an opportunity to present a proposal to the 46th for support/opposition. For more info go to the City Council website: http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/council/ Phone companies passing info to the NSA – Bev Phone companies are giving customer phone data records to the NSA without warrants. ACLU has asked the Washington Utilites and Transportation Commission (WUTC) to identify which Washington telephone companies are disclosing records and to take appropriate action to protect consumer privacy. To sign the ACLU petition: https://secure.npsite.org/acluwa/site/SPageServer?pagename=act_UTCpetition Comments can also be made to the WUTC at: www.wutc.wa.gov\comment (on front page of www.wutc.wa.gov) Proposed Board of Pharmacy rule - Bev Proposed rule allows pharamcists to refuse to dispense any medication that goes against their beliefs. Plan B is the initial target, but could apply to any medication. Birth control could be next. Scary. One possible "hope" is that there’s so much money in birth control pills the pharmaceutical companies won’t let this happen (but how much is being paid by the insurance companies?) People don’t need to wait for a nuanced statement. You can take action now. Gregoire is coming out strongly against this proposal. Apparently, none of the Board of Pharmacists has been confirmed so Gregoire still has power. Debby: How do they get on Board? Appointed? We must stop framing the debate around Plan B since this bill has much wider implications. e.g. If pharmacist said “you’ve got AIDS, you must be gay, so therefore I’m not going to fill your prescription on moral grounds,” etc. Debby: How did this happen? They want to take on all forms of contraception. Because it’s not clear whether Plan B is that much different than normal birth control pills. Chad: Are consumer groups setting a place where people can report where pharmacists are denying prescriptions? Yes, women’s groups. If we hear reports of any pharmacies in the 46th denying access to prescriptions, we should consider sending letters to that store. Martha Dye-Wheelen would know that. Suggested personal action items to be taken: -Sign petition with NARAL or Planned Parenthood. -Write Gov. Gregoire: thank her and encourage her. -Write letter to P-I or Times -State Board of Pharmacy holding a hearing in Kent on August 31, see website for details: https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/HPS4/Pharmacy/default.htm Updates on continuing topics & action plans + new business Sylvia: Aquaculture: Article by Ann Mosness in the June issue of “Sound Consumer”(www.pccnaturalmarkets.com) explains the troubling business of caged fish production and how Senate Bill 1195 would allow it, virtually unchecked, in the waters of the Washington’s coastline. Anne’s article points out that proponents are working quietly to allow fish farms off our shores. Several states have passed resolutions to ban GMO fish farms. Coalition of Enviromental Groups putting pressure on Puget Sound Partnership appointed by Gov. Gregoire. Sylvia will follow this issue. Bev - effort to reach Cantwell: Dal LaMagna wants to get the effort going again to communicate with Cantwell (Make peace with the peaceful). Conference call Tuesday, June 6, 2006, with small group. Cantwell is quoted as saying “everyone thinks differently about the war”. LaMagna is proposing a Peace summit/forum and invite Cantwell, Tom Hayden, Jim McDermott, Jay Inslee, Cindy Sheehan and other people. NOT CONFIRMED. We should ask if Patty Murray would come, John Murtha, General Zinni Dal respects what we’ve done before, is very humble but hopes that the timing is right for this. Debby: After holding many meetings with many constituent groups, Maria feels sure she knows how we feel. Chad: If she said out loud that she was wrong, she was lied to, we were wrong to go in, her polls would go up. She’s waiting until closer to the primaries. We’re not crossing our fingers. State Convention Kudos to Jim Mullins for platform work. Have primary challengers to an incumbent ever been allowed to speak at a Convention? Sylvia will ask David McDonald. Sylvia sent letter to Dwight Pelz regarding his rude behavior for talking during Mark Wilson and Hong Tran’s speeches at the Convention. And wonders if it’s possible to have Peter Steinbrueck speak to our group. The Native American Tribal Caucus was facilitated by Chad. He has a copy of the roster and of his notes and the official Native American Caucus Minutes if people would like to get more info. Report on the Progressive Caucus with Larry Kalb: The actual caucus meeting was attended by 44 people. There was no agenda, but Larry had some things to say, including that he will not be running for chair at the next reorganization. Chad Lupkes will be running for Chair of the Progressive Caucus at the January reorganization. Local Progressive caucuses are all independent groups working in partnership. No hierarchy will be established by the state level caucus and no caucus group will be restricted from local actions by by-laws or rules established at the state level. The potluck after the meeting was a huge success, with over 150 people coming in and out. We did have some speakers, including Mark Wilson and Hong Tran, as well as some people working on Immigration. Resolutions for the Platform: We finished about 1/3 of the Platform and had a local party chair put forward a motion to end debate. This was tried twice, but failed the first time. 191 resolutions were submitted to the platform committee; Six were introduced first in a block because they had to do with Initiatives. The rest will be sent to the state central committee's platform committee. The two members from the 46th are Sarajane Siegfriedt and Jim Mullins. Jim's seat will need to be filled by Scott. Brainstorming re endorsements: What about the questionnaire that goes out to candidates? Could we add some questions based on our platform on their stand about pre-emptive war. King County questionnaire is used by all the LD’s in the County. When do the questionnaires go out and is it a done deal? Announcements: Justin: House Party for Mark Wilson, Thursday, July 27, 2006. Chad: Public Hearing, Special Committee on Charter Amendments, Monday, June 19, 2006, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers, City Hall, 2nd Floor, 600 Fourth Avenue between Cherry and James. Next Meeting: *When: July 3, 2006; 7 – 9 p.m. *Where: Sylvia Haven’s home, 10418 12th Ave NE, Seattle 98125, 522-3943 *Facilitator: Debby Norman *Notetaker: Barbara Whitt Respectfully submitted, Notetaker for a day, Kim Wells kimwellsseattle@comcast.net Category:PDCW46 PDCW46